Bangalore — Pollution Health Impact
3,192 days of CPCB data (2016–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Karnataka · Live Bangalore AQI →
Living in Bangalore is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 2.9 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,067 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 5.8 years per resident.
Cigarette-equivalence (Berkeley Earth 2015) and life-years lost (EPIC AQLI) are peer-reviewed communication heuristics, not clinical diagnoses. Full sources linked on the methodology page.
Headline impact numbers
Cigarettes/day by year
Annual average cigarette-equivalent.
Clean-air days (NAQI ≤ 50) by year
Days when NAQI stayed in the “Good” band.
Which WHO tier did Bangalore meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG4 days (0.1%)
- IT-424 days (0.8%)
- IT-3204 days (6.4%)
- IT-2467 days (14.6%)
- IT-11,874 days (58.7%)
- Above IT-1619 days (19.4%)
WHO AQG (15) · IT-4 (25) · IT-3 (37.5) · IT-2 (50) · IT-1 (75) µg/m³ (24-hour PM2.5).
Life-years lost, by disease
Applying WHO's global attribution (68/14/14/4) to Bangalore's 5.8 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 4.0y
- COPD: 0.8y
- Child ALRI: 0.8y
- Lung cancer: 0.2y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Bangalore page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 2,960 (92.7%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 619 (19.4%)
Source: WHO 2021 AQG interim-target risk framework; WHO 2024 ambient-air fact sheet identifies children under 5 and pregnant residents as the most vulnerable groups.
How Bangalore compares to nearby cities
What the numbers say
Overview
Across 3,192 days of CPCB monitoring, the average adult in Bangalore has breathed air with the health-equivalent of smoking 2.9 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,067 cigarettes every year (Berkeley Earth, 2015).
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 5.8 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 4 of 3,192 days (0.1%); 619 days (19.4%) exceeded even the 75 µg/m³ Interim Target-1 threshold.
Why this pattern
The burden concentrates in February — when the average cigarette-equivalent climbs to 3.6/day — and eases in June (2.3/day). Globally, WHO attributes 68% of PM2.5 deaths to heart disease and stroke, with the remainder split across COPD, childhood ALRI, and lung cancer.
What to do with this
Cigarette-equivalence is a communication tool, not a medical verdict. Still, the direction is clear: time indoors with a HEPA unit and a good-fit mask outdoors during the 2,960 days (92.7%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.